If there was one thing that could be said about Ciel Phantomhive, it was that he was a man of his word. The Earl made absolutely sure to keep his new butler constantly busy, whether it was helping with the investigation or if it was doing menial tasks around the house. He had every intention of pushing the man as far as he possibly could to see just how patient he would be. When the man tried to bathe him, he would splash him with water if he didn't move fast enough. Ciel yelled and rang for Sebastian at least five times per night with small complaints like 'My pillow's not fluffy enough' or 'Now it's too fluffy, you idiot' or even 'I think there's a beast in my armoire' even though the armoire was in the dressing room, which was separated from the main bedroom by a solid oak door. His favorite thing to do was call Sebastian in just past midnight, then question why he was in his night clothes rather than his uniform.
"What if we're attacked? Do you expect to keep your dignity while defending me in a shirt that barely reaches your knees?" He would ask with a smirk on his lips while the man helped tuck him into his large bed and make sure everything was perfect for his master.
"I can defend you no matter how much skin I show, master. Now, please, go to sleep." Sebastian would always reply.
"You don't tell me what to do."
"Good night, my lord."
With that, Sebastian would blow out the candles and return to his own bedroom to get as much more sleep as he could before he started on his morning routine before the sun had a chance to rise.
"Master, I've compiled a summary of the things The Undertaker told me." Sebastian said to Ciel one day while the younger man was sipping his afternoon tea.
"How did you make him talk? He always makes it so difficult." Ciel asked curiously, looking up at his butler, who had returned to the manor successful and a bit disheveled.
"I had to make him laugh. Naturally, I told him about you, master." Sebastian replied honestly, cracking a small smile to Ciel.
"Just tell me what he said."
"Yes, sir. The corpses he's looked over so far all seem to have been mauled by something with claws. The throats have all been torn out, as well as quite a few organs. Bite marks are evident on each one of the bodies; though where they're placed is rather inconsistent, save for the fact that they all pierce a major vein or artery. The attacker or attackers didn't seem to mind who they attacked, as the victims consist of men, women, and children. The victims all seem to have been members of the churches that were burned down. Only a few people saw the attackers and survived, though none of them can describe the attackers or what they saw. The only things they can seem to say are 'Hell' and 'monster'. Most of these survivors seem to be in shock or highly mentally disturbed since the time they spotted the attackers."
Ciel stayed silent as Sebastian read over the summary he'd written up before letting the butler hand the summary over to him as well as a diagram the Undertaker had drawn up to illustrate what the bodies tended to look like. He frowned as he looked and mulled over everything.
"Sebastian, you're rather painfully Catholic, aren't you?" Ciel asked after a bit, looking up at the other man.
"I was raised Catholic by rather devout parents, yes." Sebastian replied with a small frown.
"How much do you know about demons and angels and the like?"
"Not too much, admittedly. I know that angels are God's soldiers and that demons are descended from the angels who fell from Heaven with Lucifer. I know Lucifer fell because he didn't want to hold humans to the same standard as God himself and didn't want to love them like he loved God. That's all I really know, though. Why do you ask, master?"
Ciel listened and nodded before gesturing for his butler to take a seat in a chair near the desk. "It's true that demons and fallen angels hold no love for humans whatsoever. The thing with both demons and angels, though, is that the human mind generally does not have the capacity to fully comprehend what they look like. Therefore, the sight of one in their most natural form would easily frighten the viewer. That's why, in the Bible, they always say 'do not be afraid' when they appear to someone. I'm telling you all of this because I think the attacker or attackers might be a demon or two. It probably isn't too many, since one demon can wreak quite a lot of havoc on it's own."
"If they're demons, how will we get rid of them? Can a human kill a demon?" Sebastian asked with a small frown.
"Humans are much too weak to really kill one. The only thing a human can really do is send them back to Hell. That's what I need you for."
"Master, I'm not a priest or a Father at all. I don't know how."
"Well, I suppose you're just going to have to peruse the library and learn how, then."
Sebastian sighed a bit at that, already having quite a bit on his plate since he had to finish preparations for his parents' visit the next day. "How long do I have to learn it, sir?"
"I'll give you three days after tomorrow. The longer we wait, the more damage will be done." Ciel replied as he finished off his tea. "On the third day we'll head out and try to track them down."
"Yes, sir. Is there anything more you need me for?" Sebastian replied, wondering how on earth he was supposed to learn how to send a demon back to Hell in a span of three days, as well as figure out a way to completely impress his parents and show them what a great servant he was and make them proud.
"No, that'll be all for now. You can go back to your work."
Sebastian nodded and stood up before leaving the room, returning to preparing the guest room for his parents, making sure everything was ready and perfect for them. Despite the fact that his parents were visiting, he'd only been relieved of half of his duties for the day, which meant he would still have to tend to the meals and to his master, but the other tasks around the manor would be entrusted to the other servants.
He finished that day as he usually did, letting the other servants head to bed before he did. He made sure everything was ready for the next day before donning his own nightshirt and locking up the manor. He made sure the stray cats had enough food for the night and made sure to kiss each of them on the head and bid them goodnight before finally retiring.
He knelt before his bed and said his nightly prayer, this time around praying that his parents would be proud of him and that he and Ciel would be able to stop the demons from creating much more carnage and send them back from whence they'd come. With that, he made the sign of the cross and crawled into his bed for the night.
After an hour or two of sleep, he woke up to the bell over his bed ringing furiously.
"He's my adorable little master. He's my adorable little master. He's my adorable little master." He mumbled to himself to help extend his patience as he made his way up to the Earl's bedroom and let himself inside. "What do you need, master?"
"I can't sleep. Can you get me some warm milk?" Ciel asked as he sat up in his bed.
"Very well, sir. It might be a few minutes, though." Sebastian replied dutifully to Ciel, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
"That's fine. I'll come with you." Ciel replied as he slid out of his bed to pad over to his butler.
Sebastian just nodded and gently rested a hand on the back of Ciel's shoulder to guide his sleepy master down the stairs to the kitchen. He had to admit, while he wasn't happy about being routinely woken up from his sleep, Ciel was absolutely adorable when he was sleepy. His big eyes were half closed and he had a habit of grabbing onto his nightshirt and clinging close to him no matter what. He had to restrain himself from reaching down to gently poke the other teenager's cheeks to see if they were as soft as they looked.
He lead Ciel down into the kitchen and let the young earl cling to his clothes and follow him around as he got the milk and started to heat it up.
"Sebastian?" Ciel asked curiously as they waited for the milk to get warm enough.
"Yes, my lord?" Sebastian replied, getting a mug out for the milk.
"Can you put honey in it?" Ciel asked tiredly as he moved to bury his face into his skinny butler's shoulder. He was still rather bony and underweight, so it wasn't the most comfortable thing in the world. But, he was still warm and better than nothing.
"I don't see why not, sir." Sebastian replied, resting a hand on the back of Ciel's head to absently start playing with his silky hair.
"Tanaka says having too much honey in my milk is bad for me."
"Well, it'll be our little secret, then, and it won't happen too often from now on."
Ciel nodded and buried his face into his butler's shoulder. He would blame it on drowsiness later, but he couldn't help but notice the nice smell his butler gave off. The man smelled like chocolate and fresh, air-dried linens. For whatever reason, the first thing his mind jumped to when he tried to mentally describe the scent was 'home'.
Sebastian just worked and relaxed next to Ciel, putting the milk in the mug and mixing in a bit of honey when it was ready. "Here you are, my lord."
Ciel peeled away from Sebastian to take hold of the mug, though still kept rather close to the warmth of his butler.
"Your parents are coming tomorrow morning." He commented before yawning between sips of his milk.
"Yes, sir, they are." Sebastian replied with a small smile as he watched his sleepy master. He couldn't help but imagine his master as a little kitten that was verging on just falling asleep in it's bowl of food.
"Are you excited?"
"Yes, sir. I'm praying that they'll be proud of me."
"I think they will. I think they'll be real proud."
Sebastian blinked and smiled warmly at that, resisting every urge to lean down and kiss his earl's forehead in gratitude for the comment. "Thank you, sir. I'll make sure they know how good you are to me."
Ciel leaned into Sebastian as he sipped his milk. "Thank you, Sebastian. You're not that terrible of a butler. You still have a lot to figure out, but you're pretty good."
Sebastian smiled at that and just relaxed as Ciel finished his milk and handed him the mug back. He set it beside the sink to be washed later and walked Ciel back up to his bedroom for the night, tucking him back into his bed.
"Is everything to your liking, sir?" He asked, gently brushing some hair out of Ciel's face.
"Yes, it's all fine." Ciel replied tiredly, looking up at his butler, taking one last discreet whiff of him when the man leaned over him to get him snug in his bed.
"Wonderful. Good night, master." Sebastian replied with a small smile.
"Good night, Sebastian." Ciel replied to the other man, watching as he walked over to the candle on the bedside table.
Sebastian took the candle with him to return back to his bedchambers for the rest of the night. He was able to sleep all through the night for the first time in a while without Ciel waking him up with some complaint or another.
As per usual, he woke up before the sun rose. He took a cold bath to help wake himself up, washing his hair and body thoroughly before he got out to get dressed in his uniform for the day. When everything was ready, he woke the other servants up for the day and went to start working on breakfast for all of them. He brewed their morning tea while making an omelet and toasted bread with butter for each of them, setting the little servants' table in the kitchen neatly.
Bard was the first one to come lumbering into the room, followed closely by Finny, Mey-Rin, Tanaka strolling in leisurely a bit behind them all.
"What's on the menu this morning, Sebastian?" Bard asked tired as he looked over at the young butler pouring out the cups of black tea.
"Cheese and mushroom omelets, toasted bread and butter, and Earl Grey tea. Matcha for Mr. Tanaka." Sebastian replied, looking up at the other workers as they all got seated to eat together.
"It smells so good, Mr. Sebastian." Finny said with a yawn. "We're gonna meet your parents, too, right?"
"Yes, I was planning to give them a tour around and introduce them to you all. Which is why you all need to behave. I'm looking at you, Baldroy." Sebastian replied as he sat down, making sure not to sit on the tails of his coat.
"What? Why me?" Bard asked with a small frown, earning him a pointed look from the butler.
"Because, I know how much you would rather fool around than work. I'm sure that entails trying something you know you shouldn't around my parents." Sebastian replied with a small frown as they all started to eat their breakfast. "This goes for all of you. Please, be on your best behavior around them. They're more devout than any of us, so do your best not to offend them. They might be my parents and they might not be the kind of guest we usually get, but you'll treat them as if they're just as high-born as Queen Victoria herself. Except for you, Mr. Tanaka. I trust you not to do anything you shouldn't."
"I'll be really good, Mr. Sebastian! We'll be good friends by the time the sun sets!" Finny piped up with food in his mouth.
"Cover your mouth when you talk, Finnian. Better yet, swallow your food before talking." Sebastian replied between bites.
"I-I'm sure your parents are lovely, Mr. Sebastian." Mey-Rin said, biting her tongue to keep herself from mentioning how he'd have to get his looks from somebody.
"I am, too." Sebastian replied easily, completely oblivious to the way the woman adored him.
He stayed relatively quiet for the rest of the meal, giving each servant their task before getting to work on the morning tea to serve Ciel before his parents arrived for breakfast. He got Ciel ready for the day and made sure everything was absolutely perfect until he heard a knock on the door.
Ciel watched with a small smile as his butler practically sprinted down the stairs, took a moment to make sure his tie and suit were straight and his hair was as neat as it could get. He could practically sense the nerves radiating off the young man as he walked down the stairs to stand off to the side as Sebastian finally unlocked and opened the door.
Sebastian opened the door to his parents, smiling widely at the sight of his mother and father. It had only been less than a month, but he could already see how much better they looked. The stress of having to meet a high quota showed on their faces, as well the effect of being able to start feeding and washing themselves properly.
"Mama, Papa. Come in." Sebastian said, stepping aside to let his parents inside the manor. "I'll take your coats for you."
"First, let me get a good look at you." His mother replied, reaching up to cup her son's cheeks and look him over. "Oh, my sweet baby boy. You look really good. That's a good haircut for you."
"Not to mention the suit. You finally have pants to fit those long legs of yours." His father said with a small smile to his son, gently patting his back.
"Thank you. They were tailored for me." Sebastian replied with a happy smile to them as he took their old cloaks from them and moved to hang them up neatly in the coat closet.
"Mama, Papa, I'll take your bags and show you to your guest room." Sebastian said when he returned over to his parents, holding out his hands to them.
"You don't have to do that, baby." His mother replied with a small laugh.
"You are my parents, but you are also our guests. I must show Phantomhive hospitality."
"Come on, honey. Let him show us Phantomhive hospitality." His father said with a happy smile to his wife before passing his small bag to their son. His mother smiled and did the same.
"If you will follow me, I'll show you to your room and let you get settled before breakfast." Sebastian said to them, glancing over at his master as the earl watched from the sidelines.
They both nodded and smiled a bit as they followed their son up the staircase and through the hallway to their guest room. Sebastian put the bags down long enough to produce the key to the room from his pocket and let them inside the room.
"Go ahead and get settled at your leisure. I will be-" Sebastian said to his parents, getting cut off when his mother reached up to take his face in her hands and pepper it with kisses before she hugged him tightly. He relaxed a bit in her arms and hugged her in return.
"We don't have much to get settled. Why don't we go down to breakfast now?" His father said with a small smile.
Sebastian nodded and straightened out his jacket a bit. "Follow me, please." He said, leading them out of the room.
"Hello, master. Mother, Father, this is Ciel Phantomhive, my wonderful master. There he is again." Sebastian said as they passed by the Earl, then a portrait of the young earl hanging above the staircase. "That was a terrible joke. I'm sorry."
Ciel just gave a soft sigh and shook his head as he fell in behind Sebastian's parents. He figured he'd might as well join in on the little group, since he didn't have much else to do. He followed as Sebastian lead them all to the dining room where the table had been set for the three of them, watching as his butler went around, pulling out the chairs for them all one by one, starting with his and moving to his parents'.
"If you will all wait here for a moment, please, I'll return with the food shortly." Sebastian said to them once they were all seated at the table.
Ciel nodded and made a small motion to shoo his butler out of the room. He made friendly conversation with Sebastian's parents for a little bit, though it only took about a minute or two until Sebastian returned with a cart of food.
"My, look at him go. It feels like it was only yesterday when he ran home to tell us about a customer who'd come in with big blue eyes, swearing to us that he'd take that boy to be his bride one day." His father mused as Sebastian served them all the food.
Ciel didn't miss the way Sebastian's eyes widened and his cheeks went bright pink while the other man poured him the freshly squeezed juice. He just smiled happily at that, looking over at his father. "Oh? Please, tell me more about that."